Neurotropism

Neurotropism is the physiological tendency of certain pathogens to infect the nervous system. This term is often used in the context of neurovirology, a subfield of virology which focuses on viruses that can cause diseases of the nervous system. Neurotropic viruses can be categorized into two groups: those that are destructive to neural tissues, and those that can establish a latent infection in neural tissues.

Mechanism of Neurotropism

The mechanism of neurotropism is complex and not fully understood. It is believed that the ability of a virus to infect the nervous system depends on several factors, including the virus's ability to enter the nervous system, its ability to replicate within neural cells, and its ability to evade the host's immune response.

Examples of Neurotropic Viruses

Several viruses are known to be neurotropic, including:

• Herpes simplex virus (HSV)
• Varicella-zoster virus (VZV)
• Rabies virus
• Poliovirus
• West Nile virus
• Zika virus

These viruses can cause a range of neurological diseases, from mild conditions such as chickenpox (caused by VZV) to severe conditions such as rabies (caused by the rabies virus) and poliomyelitis (caused by the poliovirus).

See Also

• Neuroinvasive disease
• Neurovirulence
• Neuroimmunology

References

Neurotropism Resources
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